Man convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes (with photo)
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Customs intercepted a container vessel in the waters off Lamma Island on July 24, 2024. Upon inspection, Customs officers seized 30.4 million duty-not-paid cigarettes on the vessel, with an estimated market value of about $137 million and a duty potential of about $100.5 million. The male coxswain, aged 49, was subsequently arrested.
Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offence.
Customs stresses that smuggling is a serious offence. Under the IEO, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years upon conviction. Moreover, under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.
Customs will continue to combat cross-boundary illicit cigarette smuggling activities with firm enforcement action.
Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Ends/Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Issued at HKT 18:31
Issued at HKT 18:31
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